For some reason the model's

For some reason the model's wheels on the trucks were not painted.

So I decided to paint them first.

I'll let the paint cure for two days.

It has a nice finish, but

It has a nice finish, but very shiny and black; this will certainly be a challenge.

Doing some research and found

Doing some research and found the cleanest looking one...

... and dirtiest one, but it is during the winter:

I have no idea of what the status of the first one is with the head lamp covered and cab draped.

Dull coat would make it flat. Like the winter picture.

I am not sure if that is your goal. If you do maybe try a light pass and see if you like the effect. 

First Photo is in Storage

Headlight and cab windows appear to be covered in wood. Stack is capped. May have had some class repairs done before shoving it into the coaling track for a long rest.

Bob

Omaha

the dirtiest one?

What's up with the rear driver on that one? It looks odd colored and distorted??   The paint color looks pretty typical of an in use steam engine though. Some dull coat and a bit of soot and grime mist might do the trick....DaveB

Bob, Makes sense. So there

Bob,

Makes sense. So there must of been times in a yard that was less busy than other times so would put a switcher or two away temporarily?

Shawn, My goal is not the

Shawn,

My goal is not the winter picture though a semi flat might work then with some Pan Pastels.

DaveB, It appears that driver

DaveB,

It appears that driver is the same colour as the dirt on the tracks. Perhaps something leaking in that area causing ti to stick to the driver causing a slush like build up?

This is the last tender I

This is the last tender I lightly weathered, but it had an off black semi gloss custom paint on it so it didn't take much to get rid of the sheen it had.

The photo might be from

The photo might be from 1933-34, at the bottom of the Depression. (I don't know if it hit Canada at precisely the same time as the US.) There were a pretty fair number of locomotives idled during the Depression. But yes, in general if traffic levels fall, resources can be idled and stored. And naturally when traffic swings up, these will come out of storage, get an overhaul and be out on the road. It's hard to imagine this photo having been taken in the middle of WWII, for example.

That often happens with steam locos that use a lot of sand, especially on roads that provided sand to all drivers (obviously not this loco, which clearly has only two sand lines per side). Sometimes there were washout plugs that drained / sprayed onto one or more drivers. The colors in this particular case make me think that this is more likely than just sand, but it's hard to tell from this photo. Could be a mixture of the two, also. I think the distortion is just an optical illusion.

CandOfan,Good info.I just

CandOfan,

Good info.

I just looked up that photo and it was taken in 1956 and that loco was scrapped in April of 1960. They really utilized that switcher considering it was built in 1929.

CandOfan, Makes sense. As you

CandOfan,

Makes sense. As you can see on my first switcher, I put a dusting of sand on the driver.

retired steam

By 1956 most roads were either fully dieselized or were getting pretty close. And switchers were some of the first to go, so this loco might easily have been functionally retired by the time of this photo. Most steam locos spent quite a while (years) on dead lines before they were scrapped. While there might be enough diesels to cover present needs, railroads often kept long lines of steamers for a while to guard against traffic upsurges.

As just one example, C&O had mostly dieselized by 1955. But in 1956, they had a huge upswing in coal traffic, so out came lots of grumpy old steam locomotives. It was so much traffic that the road emptied the dead lines of any viable survivors and still had to lease power from friendly roads (such as RF&P, of which they were part owners) to get through the rush.

By the early 60s, everyone had loads of diesels, so the dead lines were released and steam was consigned to history and/or museums/curiosity.

Painted wheels are cure, but

Painted wheels are cured, but before I put them on truck, I'll weather the trucks first.

Trucks are ready for a coat

Trucks are ready for a coat of flat finish.

Flat finish applied. Will go

Flat finish applied. Will go some wet and dry brushing plus some Pan Pastels another day.

Found a way to I don't have

Found a way to I don't have to keep cleaning the axle points every time I paint the wheels.

It's the the wax from earplugs folk use when swimming' makes a good masking.

First layer with some dry

First layer with some dry brushing; more to do.

The truck on the left has a little bit of kicked up sand dust on it from the sand pipe of the loco.

I'll second a coat of Dullcote!

Starting with a coating or two of dullcote will take care of all the shine and make your weathering stick better because it will have "teeth" to adhere to!

Nelson,I'm a fan of dullcote

Nelson,

I'm a fan of dullcote too, but I tend to get carried away with it at times. I haven't been able to get it often, as a I used to so now I use Tamiya flat and airbrush.

The last time I used dullcote extensively was on this brass model.

Trucks dulled down and

Trucks dulled down and lightened a tad and ready for more weathering and highlighting later.

Tis the season to put this on

Tis the season to put this on hiatus.